How do you fight the old?

[ENCBBQ]

I need to work in some agility or plyometrics or something on off days to loosen my 50yo body up.

Any suggestions? Anyone doing anything fun?

[GrouchyUSMC]

I was actually hoping this would be a thread on the strategy and tactics of fighting the elderly.

I have at least one dedicated mobility day per week. I alternate 5 minutes of low impact cardio with 5 minutes of foam rolling and stretching, do it anywhere from 3-5 times. Big game changer.

https://www.stewsmithfitness.com/blo...-day-cool-down

[ENCBBQ]

I was actually hoping this would be a thread on the strategy and tactics of fighting the elderly.

the secret is to disable their walker. once the walker is compromised its game on

[Payton1221]

Not exactly what you were looking for, but I find that riding my bike helps. I live around hills and I spend a fair amount of time out of the saddle and the left/right twist/twist of my core (I think) helps my stabilizer muscles where I have fewer pains than I used to.

Another suggestion is to make sure that your lifting is balanced. If you do too much pressing (like many guys do) to too little pulling, it can cause imbalances that could make you feel "tight" (you mentioned wanting to loosen up). And I purposefully have programmed my shoulder work to match my chest work which makes my shoulders feel good too.

[weiss1967]

boxing, not punching but leg work and bob and weave, speedbag and skip rope. To me this is unparalleled when I want to what you call "loosen up a bit". Especially important after lifting session. This is when you become slow and stiff. Quick three rounds of shadow dance and you will be like on prosthetic joints, can outrun any cop in town. Music helps too, lil wayne and such, you know.

[djflex2]

I have considered yoga, but never followed through on it. I like the idea above of a whole day mobility training.

[TolerantLactose]

I can fight the old. Except when I'm standing between them and the early bird buffet. Then they get nasty.

[Zeke2112]

I was trying to do cardio on off days but found myself unable to recover good.

So now I just do limited plyometric/crossfit stuff as warmups on workout days.

Dumbbell Renegade Row on chest and triceps day.
Barbell Twist (aka broomstick twist using 15 lb standard barbell) on back and biceps day.
Dumbbell Overhead Swing (aka kettlebell swing) on leg day.

[ENCBBQ]

I spent 15 minutes or so stretching after lifting Monday and felt much better. Still to fit in off day mobility work outs

[shaneinga]

I come in here and from time to time get reminded by posts like this one, https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=179314641, and realize that age is just a number and if a guy who is 82 years old can overcome his fight with old age and still be crushing weights what do I have to complain about being almost half his age.

Train smart, recover, and do some type of mobility work. In addition to this it is really important to listen to your body and don't ignore long term pain or lack of mobility issues.

[brit-iron]

I stretch pretty much everyday while I've got the TV on, kinda yoga stuff, but nothing advanced. Also I've got an electric massager that I use, it heats up as well. Bloody great gadget. Great on knotted muscles.

[mattkw80]

Got back into weight lifting Oct 1 - and that's going well... already got back to all my old working sets.

Despite that...I'm having your same issues.... bad agility and I'm pulling muscles doing simple things, despite Squatting 3 times a week, doing cardio, doing my best to warm up.

I just bought DDPY in the hopes that it will solve my problem.

(ddpyoga.com)

[SuffolkPunch]

I don't think there is any need for stretching or any other type of special old person exercise. I just do resistance training.

However, you do have to know how to balance your exercise selection and train to avoid weaknesses or stiffness in certain ranges of motion - which I believe are the cause of cramp/spasm/inflexibility/posture issues.

The only thing on my body that doesn't work efficiently as a result is my left knee which had 3/4 of the cartilage removed 20 years ago. Can't quite sit on my haunches as a result.

[PhDPepper1111]

Like Payton I bike - mostly mountain biking which definitely helps with agility etc.
I’d pick something you enjoy to add 1 day a week.
Resistance is the best though, truly.

[PhDPepper1111]

Related, this article on reducing blood pressure with resistance is great - the average subject was 50 - not too late to change!

https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog...lood-pressure/

[TheResistance]

I don't think there is any need for stretching or any other type of special old person exercise. I just do resistance training.

However, you do have to know how to balance your exercise selection and train to avoid weaknesses or stiffness in certain ranges of motion - which I believe are the cause of cramp/spasm/inflexibility/posture issues.

The only thing on my body that doesn't work efficiently as a result is my left knee which had 3/4 of the cartilage removed 20 years ago. Can't quite sit on my haunches as a result.

Dumb

[SuffolkPunch]

Dumb

Have you got any kind of explanation? Or perhaps you think you are in the Misc?

[Slayermanlet]

You're as old as your mobility

15 minutes stretching here and there is better than nothing but it isn't going to do much. I suggest going all in on mobility- several hours per week. Although I'm only in my 30s my body was an absolute wreck a few years ago - but now I feel 100x better after getting serious about mobility and flexibility.

If you want guidance check out books by Kelly Starett or Kit Laughlin

[TheResistance]

Have you got any kind of explanation? Or perhaps you think you are in the Misc?

I can't be bothered with you. Just wanted to call out your nonsense.

Thanks for the negs.

[SuffolkPunch]

I can't be bothered with you. Just wanted to call out your nonsense.

Thanks for the negs.

Thanks for the detailed explanation, very informative.

[TheResistance]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, very informative.

I loved the crack about 'special old person exercise' - and you do sarcasm too. Your a funny guy.

[SuffolkPunch]

I loved the crack about 'special old person exercise' - and you do sarcasm too. Your a funny guy.

My point was that there is no magic in things like yoga, it's just gentle resistance training. That is backed up by my experience. And also the general theory about the condition of muscle tissue being most affected by targeted resistance training (not stretching) is backed up by work done by people like Dr. Quin Henoch and also see the references in this article:
http://simplyshredded.com/the-scienc...enselmans.html

[Slayermanlet]

My point was that there is no magic in things like yoga, it's just gentle resistance training. That is backed up by my experience. And also the general theory about the condition of muscle tissue being most affected by targeted resistance training (not stretching) is backed up by work done by people like Dr. Quin Henoch and also see the references in this article:
http://simplyshredded.com/the-scienc...enselmans.html

I don't get what you are saying exactly. Are you saying there are no benefits to be gained from stretching that can't be gained from resistance training?

[SuffolkPunch]

I don't get what you are saying exactly. Are you saying there are no benefits to be gained from stretching that can't be gained from resistance training?

There are benefits of stretching - but these are usually not what people think they are. For example, if you can't get into a good range of motion to do your training without stretching then stretching just before training will help you. But in isolation, it provides a temporary change neuromuscular resting tension that will disappear soon after you've stretched, it doesn't cause a permanent change in muscle length.

[Slayermanlet]

There are benefits of stretching - but these are usually not what people think they are. For example, if you can't get into a good range of motion to do your training without stretching then stretching just before training will help you. But in isolation, it provides a temporary change neuromuscular resting tension that will disappear soon after you've stretched, it doesn't cause a permanent change in muscle length.

What are you basing that on?

How come I went from not being able to tpuch my toes or scratch my back to 90% of the way to pike, front splits and a back bridge since I started stretching? My back and hip pain has completely dissapeared, and I move in sports (bjj) like I have a completely different body. The only variable is stretching for 40 mins 3x per week and doing mobility exercises for 15 mins a day.

[SuffolkPunch]

What are you basing that on?

How come I went from not being able to tpuch my toes or scratch my back to 90% of the way to pike, front splits and a back bridge since I started stretching? My back and hip pain has completely dissapeared, and I move in sports (bjj) like I have a completely different body. The only variable is stretching for 40 mins 3x per week and doing mobility exercises for 15 mins a day.

The detail is all in the references I provided.

What often happens is that you are applying resistance and using muscles within a full ROM at the same time as doing a stretching regime - but you attribute the change to the stretching and not the other part. Like I said, it has been shown that stretching in isolation doesn't cause permanent changes but using the muscle under load and throughout a full ROM does.

For example, doing a properly executed Romanian DL improved my hamstring flexibility and overcame a problem I had for years with hamstring cramping during long periods spent driving a car.

[TheResistance]

My point was that there is no magic in things like yoga, it's just gentle resistance training. That is backed up by my experience. And also the general theory about the condition of muscle tissue being most affected by targeted resistance training (not stretching) is backed up by work done by people like Dr. Quin Henoch and also see the references in this article:
http://simplyshredded.com/the-scienc...enselmans.html

Your walking away from your original post?

Yoga is not just 'gentle resistance training'.

Poor Article.

[SuffolkPunch]

Your walking away from your original post?

Yoga is not just 'gentle resistance training'.

Poor Article.

In what way? Again you provide no explanation.

[Slayermanlet]

The detail is all in the references I provided.

What often happens is that you are applying resistance and using muscles within a full ROM at the same time as doing a stretching regime - but you attribute the change to the stretching and not the other part. Like I said, it has been shown that stretching in isolation doesn't cause permanent changes but using the muscle under load and throughout a full ROM does.

For example, doing a properly executed Romanian DL improved my hamstring flexibility and overcame a problem I had for years with hamstring cramping during long periods spent driving a car.

If this were true you would expect lifters to have excellent flexibility compared to other athletes. It's the opposite, the average gym bro is an absolute mess. It also flies in the face of a vast body of anecdotal evidence that people move and perform better when they add flexibility and mobility work to their regimens.

I agree that using full ROM is great for flexibility too like in your rdl example but I'm skeptical of what you are saying about stretching not permanently improving flexibility. The other point is that you would perform stretches in ROMs that lifting would never hit.

[SuffolkPunch]

If this were true you would expect lifters to have excellent flexibility compared to other athletes. It's the opposite, the average gym bro is an absolute mess. It also flies in the face of a vast body of anecdotal evidence that people move and perform better when they add flexibility and mobility work to their regimens.

I agree that using full ROM is great for flexibility too like in your rdl example but I'm skeptical of what you are saying about stretching not permanently improving flexibility. The other point is that you would perform stretches in ROMs that lifting would never hit.

I think a lot of that is down to imbalanced training - the usual bro habit of way more benching than pulling, lots of leg press, no posterior chain work.

The devil is in the detail - it has to be properly targetted to improve flexibility which can involve some isolation exercises which are not commonly seen in gyms. Also, athletic performance is very specific to the task in question so if we are talking about general performance improvements (as distinct from pure flexibility) then clearly they will be best seen from doing something specific to what you want to improve at.